Butterfly sightings for August 2012

The red admiral was on the lakeshore path. The skippers were in the flower beds outside Bascom Hall, the Social Science Building, and Ingraham Hall.

I took a lot of pictures of this butterfly, and just realized tonight that this was a Gray Comma after going through my newly purchased "Butterflies of the North Woods".

Up to 7 Black Swallowtails were puddling with an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Only a few minutes at A to Z. A Lady and a lesser fritillary vanished without a trace.

The snout was seen outside Ace hardware store. The Question Mark was in my yard.

Owned by the Town of Neenah. About 9:00 to 9:30. Everything was sprayed and dead except the very edge of the pond.

Nothing noteworthy in the world of Lepidoptera today. But I saw this beautiful small beetle on a Milkweed plant. I think it is a Chrysochus auratus or a Dogbane Beetle.

Bischcoff and Herman Rds. Overcast with some sprinkles. 8:30-10:45. Quite a few shorebirds including a lot of Lesser Yellowlegs.

82 degrees and sunny. (After the rain.) 4-6:15 PM. Got to see a Harvester laying eggs.

Also several unidentified sulphurs and blues, but overall quite diminished lep population on a prairie with very sparse flora compared to previous years.

10:45 to Noon. Overcast with some sprinkles. Walked the dike 1/4 mile south from the southmost paking lot on highway M.

Osprey nest at Collins.

A little slim for this property but fresh Leonard's was a great find.

Just a quick stop to check the blazingstar plants at a restoration site for Leonard's Skipper. The stop was a success and added another great conservative butterfly to the list for the site that also includes Dusted Skipper and Gorgone Checkerspot. Hopefully I can add phlox moth next year!

I walked the upper meadows this morning. Wednesday, I only walked the area near Lake Michigan. It is interesting to see how different the butterflies are in the 2 areas. Southward bird migration is already starting: saw a couple of different Warbler species which nest north of here in the summer. I was also entertained by a newly fledged Robin who posed for me while his nearby parent chided me for coming so close.

bright sunny day high 80's, humid with no wind,

Skippers all over one large flower bed. Constantly moving. Hard to get photos.

I watched something today that I've never noticed before. I was photographing the Hairsteak and I noticed that every time he landed on a flower he landed backwards . I didn't get it for a while but then it dawned on me. He was doing a security check on the flower before he ate. This guy would land, wiggle his tail (that looks like it has eyes and antenna), and if no one attacked he would turn around and enjoy a bit of nectar.

Other than the very edges, no butterflies on the prairie.

I have had three sightings of the Common Buckeye over the past week - two in Waterloo (different locations- 1 1/2 miles apart) and one in Marshall.

Sluggish individual, early morning on cottage steps.

Lake Marion east of Mazomanie.

I was surprised by how little was flying despite the abundant nectar sources available in the wetlands.

Sachems were very abundant, mainly nectaring on the clover prevalent in the mowed path around the prairie. The gray hairstreak was seen in the giant ragweed "jungle" near the parking lot.

Numbers falling. Low last night of 50. Clouded numbers low, few chances to verify vs Pink Edged. Dainty movement mostly south

There were many more grasshoppers and dragonflies than butterflies.

Just leaving for a vacation when I spotted this one nectaring on the Swamp Milkweed along our shoreline.

Sunny, windy and cool.

Windy.

observed 2 individuals "fighting" on and off in my front yard garden.

Not many butterflies today even though there were quite a few nectar sources. The first butterfly I saw today was a dainty sulphur, and for quite awhile I thought that would be my only butterfly for the day. I did see a few others later. Also quite a few dragonflies, damselflies, and grasshoppers.

Sachems again were seen at all sites.

Not much going on.

Wet prairie.

Had to make a short notice trip to New London so I stopped at Marsh Road on the way home and it turned out to be a good idea again. Should stop here more often.

Sachems in all garden areas and even nectaring on the tansy

First Sachem of the year, nectaring on marigolds. This skipper is very sporadic in Waukesha County, and not seen consistently, as compared to the Fiery Skipper.

Town of Neenah. Sunny, calm and cool. 8:00-8:30. Many Sachems.

Weird Butterfly Tales...I did some concrete patching in the barn and cleaned the wheelbarrow out in the driveway. An hour later, loads of blues were puddling. A closer look revealed six species of Quikrete-loving butterflies.

One other species, unidentified, was a grass skipper, probably Dun

Taken around noon. Couldn't get a picture from above, but from below it appears to be a male Sachem. Every time it perched it kept its wings folded up.

Saw a Gray Hairstreak when I was watering my Rose of Sharon plant. It was way down into the center of the flower and did not seem to mind the bees pushing it out of the way as they tried to collect their pollen.

92 degrees and Sunny. Took it to the springs and creeks to find the BFs. A lot of new ground covered. Even found a stand of white cedars. One Mustard White had a lot of gray veins.

5:45-6:15

All the skippers were at the pull off on N Water St. by the railroad tracks east of New London.

between 11:30 am and 2 pm the garden was busy with many butterflies, maybe the most I've seen this summer, low 90's and very sunny with a light NW wind

the Fiery and Sachem were all males and were chasing one another and the other butterflies

A beautiful day. One red Admiral by the pond. Rather small and more orange marking than those of that last spring. Multiple Sachems nectaring in the flower bed at the turn into the cancer center.

Just a five minute window in the morning to have a look.

Sunny, 73, 2-4 PM.
I'm so ecstatic about finding the Pipevine. It made me work hard for the pictures, but what a thrill.

Seen 5 pm...air temp in the 70's with intermittent cloud cover and bright sunlight. Butterfly was active and first observed as small and white butterflyfrom the side. I manged to get a picture in the vegetation (first picture), and later it settled out on the trail with wings open for a while, allowing for close observation and pictures (second picture).

This is one of my favorite spots for viewing butterflies, and I usually see more variety. Some of the sandy areas are still dry and crunchy.

This male Sachem posed long enough to get several pictures from various angles.

sunny, 78F. amazingly, I only saw 2 butterflies on the hike up and down the bluff.

I saw a Mourning Cloak fly by today.

late in the afternoon, 78F, turning cloudy. Again, hardly any butterflies seen. I was hoping for some good sightings today, but pretty much got skunked.

Late afternoon, 75 degrees and sunny. One of the Eastern tailed blues was very worn. I saw something that I thought was a skipper, but upon closer examination it turned out to be one of my favorite moths, the chickweed geometer. I saw three of them in a very small area, so there may very well have been more of them around.

Dainty's staying put. Third week most on one stretch of road, but singles in several new spots. Notable lack of punctuation butterflies all season.

This was the 6th annual field trip, to the Lower Wis Riverway, of the Southern Wis Butterfly Association, led by Mike Reese. 17 participants. We found 30 species, tying the 2010 trip. We encountered 12 immigrant species from the south, the highest of the 6 years. The immigrants were Checkered White, Orange Sulphur, Little Yellow, Sleepy orange, Dainty Sulphur, Gray Hairstreak, Red Admiral, Common Buckeye, Monarch, Common Checkered-Skipper, Fiery Skipper and Sachem.

Cloudy and cool.

in a residential neighborhood on the near west side

75, cloudy, 2-3 PM

This is the first Harvester I have ever seen. These were at a cottage on the Peshtigo River.

70F, intermittent sprinkles. A brisk 30 min. walk at lunch time.

Saw three very cooperative individuals at three different locations within the park, all three feeding.
Time: 3:30-4:30 pm
Temp: Mid 70's
Both Pictures of the same butterfly

77 degrees and Sunny. Tawny Emperor landed on me twice.

Observed on Joe-Pye Weed along wetland path near Camp Pow Wow.

77 degrees and sunny. 4:30-7:30 PM. Saw Fiery skipper males trying to mate with Sachem females at both locations. Saw Male Sachems at both locations. Red Admiral was at Olbrich and it could fly.

77 degrees and Sunny. Did not find lost car keys.
Didn't get more than 20' off the road in all the other places. Mourning Cloak was by a dead skunk.

West end of Shady Lane and the WIOUWASH Trail north from Medina Jct. Rd. to the county line and south a half mile.

These observations were casual ones made while collecting prairie seeds for Dane County.

Spotted a Viceroy in the prairie flowers. I was able to track him for a couple of pictures. He doesn't stay at one place very long.

A most entertaining half hour watching the skippers on this fairly large bed of purple flowers. They were very active. My challenge: How many skippers could I capture in one photo? Answer (to my disappointment): Two. A number of times I saw five skippers at the same time with the naked eye but was unable to capture more than two in one photo.

My first Wisconsin Horace's! She didn't stick around too long. The Gray Hairstreak in the image nectaring on goldenrod was found on last Saturday's SWBA field trip.

North a half mile from Fairview Rd. and south one mile.

Warm, breezy, sunny. White-faced hornet was very agressive about chasing the monarch.

Male Pipevine Swallowtail seen flying a few times, but never settled down for a photo. I had a clear view of the metallic pale blue upper hind wings.

Also saw 2 hummingbird moths and 3 Great Spreadwing damselflies.

The barrens had several Common Wood-Nymphs and Great Spangled Fritillaries but that's it. Also walked around Fountain Lake. Lots of miles per butterfly today.

Sighting during the week of Aug 13 to 17, 2012. Two rainy days with out sightings. Today was a magnificant day with a nice breeze off the lake blue skies perfect weather for butterfly hunting. Many Mourning Cloak by the lake in the mud getting their minerals. One landed right in front of me on a rock saying, "Here I am, I want my picture taken." Most of the BF were in the weeds or bushes around the lake. Many Skippers.

Mike, I still have problems with the skippers. I hope these photos might be clear enough to ID. Still working on learning Skipper characteristics. This web page has videos that help in case you haven't seen the page: http://www.rkwalton.com/skippers/field_skippers.php. J

Not much time for butterflying today, but I managed to squeeze in 20 minutes between appointments. How many butterflies can you see in 20 minutes? Today it was 4 species, 13+ individual butterflies. And they were photogenic to boot. A lucky day.

I found some records I hadn't submitted from 2012 that I think will include a new WI species for me.

72 degrees and sunny. Blooming Alfalfa in the ditch was a big draw.

An early, quick walk-through. Just starting to come out.

I think this was the sixth Morning Cloak I saw this year (including my first butterfly of the year), but it was the first one close enough, or sat long enough to positively identify. Finally.

3-4:30 PM

I walked around the back part of this park which includes a large pond. The butterfly of the day was the Eastern tailed blue which was present everywhere I went in the park.

Brought camera up to shoot a picture and it took off never to be seen again....

1-2:30 PM. Hackberry's on 2 of the 3 roads. 1 where the pine plantation meets the meadow.

10:30-12:30 PM.

Larson trailhead north to II and south to Hillcrest Dr. and then east 1/2 mile. Decent photos few and far between for some reason.

Just wandering around in my parents' yard - ton of Fierys and Sachems.

Dainty Sulphurs and Sachems were highlights. Not much flying up here these days though I haven't been out much in the past month.

Casual observation in a friend's garden in town - Sachems are apparently abundant and widespread.

This road is much improved since I was here last spring. It was so rutted up it was hard to make it through.

Several Fiery Skippers and Sachems were dizzyingly active at the Spring Green Library small garden.

Mourning cloak resting on our deck.

Sachems galore...

Got back from Florida last night. The weather is so lovely and cool here. I had only a little time for a short walk in the park. Sachems everywhere.

Butterflies seen during walks at breaks on campus.

Nice afternoon, sunny with light breeze

There were Fiery and Sachem Skippers everywhere, difficult to count, and at one time a large group of male Fiery Skipper formed a whirling cloud as they chased one another around the garden

While waiting for a friend at the hospital, I took a walk by the cattail ponds. Beautiful flowers, frogs, bunnies, birds, and dragonflies, as well as butterflies. Wonderful peaceful place next to a busy medical center.

I had five extra minutes so I thought I'd check out this road. Lots of milkweed and joe-pye-weed. I'll be back.

Walked the rest of the gravel portion that I didn't do yesterday. Habitat not so different but the butterflies were. The Eastern Tiger Swallowtails were both black forms. One fresh, the other not so much. The fresh one touched my chest and flew off without posing.

I have no idea where that Eyed Brown came from.

I might have seen a Mustard but my best photo was not so good. Please delete it if it doesn't pass muster. Thanks.

Warm clear day. The site is great for butterflies right now with nearly 1000 rough blazingstars in full bloom. The sheer number of blazingstars coupled with the large number of sachems made it difficult to search for Leonard's skipper. I did get some rusty orange skippers but they were Fiery skippers. Interesting that Aaron Carlson picked up so few butterflies just a week and one half ago. How quickly things can change!!

Sad to say, I haven't yet seen any Giant Swallowtails this year; still waiting!

North a half mile from Oakridge Road and south one mile. 09:00 to 10:15. Must have been way too early.

Lots of nectar sources with nothing nectaring here, but I did see a Southern Dogface.

Seen near building

This is an unnamed open space located on the west shore of Little Lake Butte des Morts and south of the bridge. It is owned by the Town of Menasha. This is where the Fox River PCB dredging operation took place. When the dredging was done it was planted in prairie. I walked through here last year when the prairie was in it's first year. This year it is ten times better. I was very surprised.

Tons of Sachems. I more or less walked the perimeter and a diagonal line on both sides of the creek. There has to be a hundred Sachems per acre here.

Dog friendly side of the park.

I got tired of counting the Dainty Sulphurs. They were on the sides of almost every road I traveled. An unexpected find of a Karner on scat.

Found time for a short walk this afternoon. Sunny and breezy.

82F, breezy, mostly sunny. 45-min lunch walk. Not much flying except grasshoppers.

From Breezewood Lane to Highway G and back. 09:30 to 10:45. Light rain off and on. I felt lucky I did not get skunked.

Stopped at this park on the way through to see if anything was in the flower beds. It isn't very big but there were three male Sachem battling.

Extremely dry conditions. I made a quick check between Copper Rd and Hwy 173, but found few butterflies.

My first Fiery Skipper successfully reared . Forty five days from egg to adult...emerging today. These skippers dominated my garden since early July and flew in company with Sachems for about a week. Sachems have not been seen currently.

The S-B Frits gave me trouble. Had to go back to that spot five times before one sat in a place where I could identify it.

Very few butterflies out there today.

Best place was on the recently reconstructed dike of the Lower Wilson Marsh Flowage. Along this dike I found my first ever Variegated Frits, plus many, many Dainty Sulphurs. A couple of other grass skippers were too fast for me to ID. Spotted and photographed the 2 resting Beavers at Tanner Flowage.

The skippers were very active. At one point I saw five skippers swirling above the flowers.

Black River Trail area off of County V. The male Sachem was courting this female for at least ten minutes.

Sunny, 79 degrees, muggy, no breeze, marsh like area and lake front. Many Sailboats. Birds starting to gather for trip south. Multiple skippers. Ever present Cabbage Whites.

85F, partly cloudy, somewhat breezy. I thought we'd see a lot more today, the weather seemed good for butterflies, and the Liatris and goldenrods were abundantly in full bloom. I only saw the Leonard's Skipper when I went chasing after a skink, otherwise, I probably would not have seen it. Also saw a white Liatris aspera. I don't know how common the white ones are, but that's the first one I've ever seen.

Low 70's, overcast and very humid.

North to the county line from Medina Junction Road and south 3/4 of a mile.

Surprising number of Aphrodite Fritillaries.

77 degrees and cloudy. 4 PM. Quick walk around to see what was flying. Dainties have been the only consistant flyers here for the last few weeks.

Around the parking lot off Northpoint Dr.

Also went to the nature center looking for Sachems in the butterfly garden without success.

Lots of Big Sand Tiger Beetles around here.